Safety recommendation
HSSIB recommends that the Royal College of Anaesthetists works with the Association of Anaesthetists and relevant key stakeholders to implement critical incident training for all anaesthetists and anaesthetic assistants. This should include consideration of scenario-based training and include the principles for the management of an expected or unexpected difficult airway using advanced airway techniques, including videolaryngoscopy and emergency front of neck airway.
Response:
The importance of multidisciplinary team training for crisis situations is well embedded in our guidance and the standards of our Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) scheme.
We support the provision of local airway training for anaesthetists through our network of airway leads. We know that one of the main barriers for anaesthetists to access regular scenario-based critical incident training is being given the time and support from their employers to undertake this training.
In collaboration with the Difficult Airway Society and the Association of Anaesthetists, we therefore plan to undertake a scoping exercise to identify what we can do to improve critical incident training and anaesthetists’ access to it within our resource constraints as charities.
Action planned to deliver safety recommendation:
- Undertake a scoping exercise for improving critical incident training for anaesthetists, by November 2024.
Response received on 18 April 2024.